Terrorism Fears After 'Mutant Strain' Of Bird Flu Created That Can Be Transmitted Between Humans

Rotterdam's Erasmus Medical Centre announced in September it was able to create a mutant strain of H5N1 bird flu virus that could be transmitted between mammals, the Independent reports.

The announcement has since led to concerns about the security of the facility and worries that terrorists could use the mutant virus.

Popular Science writes that there are fears that even publishing details about the virus could serve as a blueprint for those wishing to create their own malicious version of the virus. Details were due to be published by the American journal Science, but the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has requested that the study is screened first, according to the Daily Mail.

"The worst-case scenario here is worse than anything you can imagine," one US government advisor told the Independent.

EU Health Commissioner John Dalli has told journalists the Dutch government has assured him the virus is being kept secure. "We need to be very vigilant," said French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand, according to the Telegraph.

The H5N1 virus has a 60 percent death rate amongst humans, one of the deadliest of any flu in human history, but human-to-human transmission has remained rare under the current strain and only 350 people have died.

In an interview in November with Science Insider, virologist Ron Fouchier conceded that the virus was "probably one of the most dangerous viruses you can make" and that he was prepared for a huge media storm over the issue, but that the experiment was worth the risk.

Perhaps just as scary as the terrorism risk, however, is the findings — Fouchier says that his experiment shows that the mutation is possible not only in a lab, but also could easily happen in nature.